Dishwasher



6. B. FOX ET AL Jul 7, 1953 DISHWASHER Filed ma 16, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet1 INVENTORS GERALD B. FOX BY DAVID .MEEKER 2 ATT RNE'YS 4 l mm o ow Q y1953, a. 8. FOX E TAL 2,

' DISHWASHER Filed May 16 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 9' ATTORNEYS y 7, 1953 G.B. Fox ETAL 2,644,473

' DISHWASHER Filed llay 16. 1950 a Sheets-Slieet s 441 I21 129 56 Tefpxtz z zsi 6,

. BY DAVID A. MEEKER I2 129 ATTORNEYS Patented July 7, 1953 7 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE DISHWASHER Gerald B. Fox and David A.'Meeke r,Troy, Ohio,

assignors to The Hobart Manufacturing Company, Troy, Ohio, a corporationof Ohio Application May 16, 1950, Serial No. 162,358

19 Claims. 1

struction that the dishes may be positioned upon it directly, andconveyed through the machine while being held properly and with suchyielding support as to prevent likelihood of damage or breakage. Theposition of the dishes during their travel through the machine isessentially upright, or somewhat inclined, thus assuring completedrainage of the wash fluids before the dishes leave the machine.Furthermore, the construction of the conveyor is essentially openthroughout its entire extent so that the dishes maybe placed as desireddirectly upon the conveyor, and so that the wash sprays have full andcomplete access thereto, regardless of the particular location of thedishes thereon. It is likewise important that by reason of thisessentially open construction of the conveyor, the wash arms are locatedabove and below the conveyor and arranged to discharge their wash spraysdirectly upwardly and downwardly upon the dishes, through the conveyorin the case of the lower wash arms, the open construction makingpossible this free passage of the sprays through the conveyor withoutsubstantially reducing the eiiectiveness thereof. The conveyor is thusrapid and easy to load and unload, fully protects the dishes duringtheir travel through theme-chine, and provides for a highly effectivewashing action from wash arms located conveniently above and below theconveyor with respect to both fiat ware and hollow ware as well assilver.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a continuousconveyor adapted to be driven through the washing and rinsing comessaryfor the operator or attendant to load the dishes into a rack, since theymay be placed directly on the web and without requiring any specialorientation thereon.

The separating members on the conveyor are of sufficiently resilientconstruction and are so arranged with respect to the structural membersof the conveyor that they provide resilient support for the dishes andmaintain them out of contact with the body of the conveyor. This furtherfacilitates rapid loading and unloading of the dishes and providesprotection against.

damage such as might result if a dish were accidentally dropped intodirect contact with rigid structuralparts of the conveyor. Furthermore,the separating fingers of these supporting members are so arranged thatif desired a rack of the usual type may be placed thereon, as may bedesirable for handling silverware or otherwise, and the rack will besafely supported during travel with the conveyor through the washing andrinsing cycle.

It is accordingly one of the principal objects of the present inventionto provide a conveyor of essentially open construction which is adaptedfor continuous driving through the washingand rinsing sections orchambers of a dishwasher and which includesseparating members arrangedto support the dishes in generally vertical position during washing andrinsing to facilitate access to the dishes by the generally verticallydirected wash sprays for effective washing, rinsing and draining.

An additional object is to provide such a conveyor wherein the dishsupporting and separating members are arranged to provide dish receiving recesses which extend both laterally and longitudinally of thedirection of travel of the partments of the dishwashing machine, andthis conveyor is equipped with dish supporting and separating memberswhich include upwardly projecting finger portions arranged in spaced andaligned relation both laterally and longitudinally of the conveyor todefine dish receiving recesses.

These members are of such construction that the dish receiving spaces orrecesses defined by their finger portions provide adequate support foreach dish, tray or like article during passage through the dishwashingmachine in any position in which the article is mounted on theconveyor, 1. e., either laterally or longitudinally of its direction ofmovement, and it is accordingly not necconveyor for quick and easyloading and unloading.

Another object is to provide a continuous conveyor for a dishwasherwhich includes resiliently yieldable portions forming sup-ports for thedishes and other articles to be washed to maintain the dishes out ofcontact with the structural parts of the conveyor for protection againstshock during loading and transporting of the dishes.

It is also an object of the invention to provide such a conveyor whereineach of the dish supporting and separating members is formed of a singlelength of resilient wire formed to provide the desired dish separatingand dish supporting portions.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description,

claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side view, partly broken away,showing a dishwashing machine embodying a continuous conveyor unit inaccordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a fragment of theconveyor unit loaded with dishes and trays to be washed;

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged detail views in perspective and plan,respectively, showing one of the flight wires of the conveyor;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail View in perspective showing one of themembers which separate the flight wires transversely of the conveyor;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged and somewhat diagrammatic view in vertical sectionthrough the dishwasher of Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary view on the same scale as Fig. 6 lookingdownwardly on the conveyor;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view in side elevation illustratingdiagrammatically the action of the conveyor in passing over one of thesprockets at the loading end of the machine;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the operation ofthe conveyor in conjunction with a dish supporting tray;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary and somewhat diagrammatic view on a largerscale than Fig. 1 showing the loading end of the dishwasher;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 showing the unloading end of thedishwasher and illustrating the safety switch mechanism for stopping thedishwasher in the event of incomplete unloading of the conveyor; and

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary section on the line l2l2 of Fig. 11.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, Fig. 1 shows an automatic dishwashing machine whichincludes a base frame indicated generally at l3, a casing 14 and a hood[5 located between the open loading end portion 18 and unloading endportion I! of the machine. Within the hood and adjacent the leading endI6 of the machine is a scrapping chamber 20 which includes a sump 21provided with a pump 22 for recirculating the water from the sump to theupper spray headers 25 and lower discharge manifold 26 for dischargeover the dishes as they pass through chamber 20 to wash off particles offood. These particles are washed down into the sump for subsequentremoval, the pump being provided with a suitable easily removable filter2! to prevent recirculation of the scraps.

The hood I5 also encloses the washing chamber 30 and rinsing chamber 3|,which are in continuous communication except for the usual deflector 32and flexible curtain 33 positioned between the revolving wash arms 34and rinse arms 35, and which are also shown as provided with lower washarms 36 and 31 and a final rinse header 38 and lower rinse manifold 39.In order to guard against access of particles from the scrapping chamberto the wash and rinse chambers, a space 40 is provided within the hoodbetween chambers 20 and 30, and the washing and rinsing chambers havesumps 4| and 42 separate with the sump 2| of the scrapping chamber.

A shaft 43 supporting a pair of sprockets 44 is mounted at the unloadingend of the frame and is driven by a motor 45 and speed reducer 46 asindicated at 41. A similar shaft 48 provided with sprockets 49 ismounted at the loading end of the frame, and the conveyor 50 extendsaround these sprockets for driving continuously through the hood [5. Theadvancing flight of the conveyor is supported on a pair of tracks 51carried by brackets 52 mounted in the frame, and it will be noted thatthese tracks are inclined upwardly from the loading end of the machineto a point just within the entering end of the washing chamber and thenremain level to approximately the discharge end of the rinse chamber,from which point they are inclined downwardly to the unloading end ofthe machine. The return flight of the conveyor is similarly supported ontracks 55 carried by brackets 56 secured to the frame.

The construction of the conveyor 50 is shown in detail in Figs. 2 to 8.It includes a pair of continuous pintle chains 60 which form the sidemembers of the conveyor and engage the sprockets 44 and 49; Each of theindividual links of the chain includes a bushing 6| (Fig. 6) rivetedbetween the arm members 62 and forming a bearing for a roller 63 adaptedto ride on the tracks 5! and 55. A plurality of cross rods 65 aresecured to the chains 60 in spaced relation longitudinally of theconveyor to form the desired open framework for free passage of water.Each of the cross rods is shown as having its ends received in thebushing portions 6| in an opposite pair of links in the two chains andbeing secured in place by means such as cotter pins 66.

A plurality of individual flight wires indicated generally at J0 (Figs.3 and 4) are mounted on the conveyor to form supporting andseparatingmembers for the dishes and other articles to be washed. Each of theindividual flight wires 78 is shown as formed from a single length ofwire, and it includes a forward pair of loops H adapted to receive oneof the cross rods 65, a rearward pair of loops 12 adapted to receive anadjacent cross rod, a pair of upwardli projecting fingers 15 which areinclined rearwardly with respect to a plane through the centers of theloop portions H and i2, and an up wardly inclined 100p portion I1located between the flngers l5 and extending forwardly thereof from theloops 12 beyond the loops. II.

It will thus be seen that when these flight Wires are mounted on thecross rods 65 as shown in Fig. 8, the fingers l5 incline rearwardly withrespect to the upper surface of the conveyor, and the loop 11 on eachflight wire Hi extends forwardly beyond and in vertically spacedrelation with the rod on which the loop portions H of the same flightwire are mounted. It will also be noted that the loops 12 are offsetinwardly with respect to the loops H to provide for overlapping the loopportions 12 of each flight wire by the loop portions H of the nextadjacent flight wire to the rear, and with each flight wire thus mountedon two of the cross rods 85, it is supported with its fingers I5 inproper upright position while advancing through the dishwasher but isstill able to negotiate the turns at the ends of the machine as shown inFig. 8.

Spacers 80 (Fig. 5) are provided between adjacent flight wires 10laterally of the conveyor, and each of these spacers is shown assimilarly formed from a single length of wire. It will be seen that eachspacer includes a forward pair of loops 8| adapted to receive one of thecross rods 65, a

similar rearward pair of loops 82, a longitudinally These spacers arevmounted on each pair of'cross rods 65 between the flight wires Hi asshown in Figs. 6 and 7, and they thus serve to maintain the flight wiresin spaced relation laterally of the conveyor.

It will accordingly be seen that with the conveyor constructed asdescribed andshown, the fingers on the flight wires are aligned inspaced relation both longitudinally and laterally. of the conveyor insuch manner as to define a plurality of longitudinally extendingrecesses 81 and laterally extending recesses 88 for'receiving thearticles to be washed. Thus as shown in Fig.2, the recesses 88 can beloaded with" dishes 90 of different sizes and shapes as well as withlarger articles such as the trays 9|, and the fingers 15 are ofsufficient height and suflicientlyclosely spaced to support thesearticles Properly during passage through the scrapping, washing andrinsing chambers. The longitudinally extending recesses 81 can besimilarly employed for receiving articles to be, washed, particularlyfor large articles such as trays and the like which may be too long tobe mounted crosswise of the conveyor.

With the flight wires and spacers 80 constructed and arranged as shown,positive protection is provided against contact between any of thedishes-and the relatively stiff or rigid cross rods 65. The loops IT onthe flight wires interfit as shown in Fig. 7 in such manner thateachloop extends above one of the cross rods, and with the flight wiresformed of resilient wire, the loops thus form resilient supports whichact to cushion the dishes during loading and unloading of the conveyor,even if the dishes should be accidentally dropped into place. The loops1! thus cushion all of the lateral recesses 88- as well as alternatelongitudinal recesses 87, and in the longitudinal recesses which donotcontain the loops, the portions 85 of the spacers 80 similarly act asresilient supports for the dishes. In addition, the fingers 15 may beprovided as shown in Figs. 6 to. 8 with guard caps 95 of flat,thimble-like shape, 'formed of a suitable material such as nylon orother plastic, each of these guards being held on the finger by a rivet96 and providing a cushion on the upper end of the finger.

The preferred manner of stacking the dishes is indicated in Fig.2, i.e., the dishes 90 and trays 9| being received upon the conveyor withtheir long dimensions extending crosswise thereof. In this position theflat sides of the articles. are engaged against the fingers 15 while thelower edges are supported upon the parts 1! which extend generally inthe direction of travel of the conveyor. It will be evident by referenceto the drawing that the parts 11 are arranged in rows with the loops onone cross bar overlapping those on the next adjacentbar. It will also beclear that the-spacing crosswise between the alternate rows of loops 1'!is such that whatever position is occupied by the dish, that is, whetherit is directly above a loop, or whether it is positioned in or come intodirect contact with the relatively rigid bars This is further assured bythe provision of the spacer portions 85 which are arranged in thealternate rows between loops 11,

and which provide for receiving and supporting the edges of the dishesif they should be located in that position. I

Similarly, while not preferred, the dishes may be stacked with theirlong dimensions lengthwise of the travel of the conveyor. In this casethe arrangement of the IOOps Ti and the spacer portions is likewise suchthat at no time are the dishes allowed to restdirectlyupon the crossbars 65.

This conveyor unit is particularly adapted for use in dishwashersemployed in restaurants and like establishments utilizing largequantities of dishes and trays, and for such uses a satisfactory sizefor the conveyor is an overall width for the conveyor 50 ofapproximately twenty inches, with adjacent cross rods 65 having theircenters approximately 2 inches apart. With the body of the conveyor ofthese proportions, adequate support for the dishes and trays is obtainedwith each of the fingers I5 inclined at approximately 70 to the plane ofthe conveyor and extending upwardly to a distance of approximately fourinches above the centers of the rearward loop portions i2,- and with theloops portions 1! approximatelytwo inches in width and'inclined atapproximately 15 upwardly from the plane of the conveyor. Thisarrangement provides for four rows of loops "with three rows of spacers8E! alternating between them.

It should also be noted that this conveyor is adapted for use with dishracks of the type comin the recesses 81 and 88 as described.

In order to prevent premature loading of the conveyor such as mightcause dishes to be caught between adjacent lateral rows of flight wiresas the conveyor passes around sprockets 49, the casing 1 4 is providedwith a hood I90 '(Fig. 10) hinged at llll to casing I l at the loadingend it of the machine which extends into the path of the flight wiresand is provided with a down-turned flange having cutouts I02 throughwhich the fingers E5 pass. This hood N10 is so proportioned, thatitprevents loading of the dishes onto the conveyor until the web hassubstantially completely passed around the sprockets 49 and started upthe inclined portion of the tracks 5 I;

Additional protection is provided at the loading end of the dishwasherby a flange 15 (Fig. 6) at each side of the machine mounted on adownwardly extending bracket I06 secured to the casing [4. This flangeH15 extends laterally inwardly to form a cover over the chains 60, andits inclined portion is provided with a longitudinally extending plateI08 of Bakelite or like hard plastic material which serves as a guideand support for any dishes or other articles which accidentally mayoverhang or extend beyond the sides of the conveyor. In the event thatany of the articles to be washed do thus extend too far laterally, theyare cammed back into proper position as they enter the scrapping chamber20 by an angularly arranged flange H0 (Figs. 6 and 7) mounted at bothsides of the entering end of the casing l5. Also with the fingers i5inclined rearwardly at a substantial angle which is a sliding angle, formaterials employed, such camming action will take place without damageto the fingers, since an improperly positioned tray, dish tote box orother article beingwashed will not jam as could occur if the fingerswere vertical but instead will be able to slide upwardly as well aslaterally to the extent necessary for movement to a proper position onthe conveyor. Such upward movement of the articles is facilitated by theresilient construction of the fingers, which permits them to yieldfurther as required, and also by the rounded corners I I I on the guardcaps 95.

The open portion of the dishwasher at the unloading end I1 is providedwith flanges H5 (Fig. 11) similar to the flange I65. In addition,provision is made for stopping movement of the conveyor in the eventthat any of the dishes are inadvertently not removed at the unloadingend of the machine. I2I to the end of casing I4. An additional hood I25is mounted forwardly of hood I within the casing, and it is hingedseparately from hood I20 by means of the support bars I26, I21, I28 andI29 and pivots I30. The downwardly extending front fiange portion ofthis hood I is provided with slots I3I adapted to receive the fingers 15of the fiight wires I0.

A switch I in the operating circuit to motor 45 is mounted on the sideof casing I4 as shown in Fig. 12, and a switch bar I36 is secured to theside of hood I25 for operating this switch, the arrangement in thecircuit being such that when the switch bar I36 is in position closingswitch I35, the motor will operate when its starting switch is closed.Springs I31 are secured to the support bars I28 in position to draw thehood I25 forwardly and thus to cause switch bar I36 to close switch I35.The bars I28 also carry adjusting nuts I40 which receive the adjustablestop bolts MI for adjusting the normal position of the hood, readyaccess being provided to these bolts by way of the hood I20.

It will thus be seen that under normal conditions, the springs I3! holdthe hood I25 in such position that the switch bar I36 closes switch I35and thus maintains the dishwasher in operation. However, if a dish isinadvertently left in the conveyor and carried against the front portionof hood I25, the hood will tilt against springs I3I until switch bar I36is out of contact with the switch I35, whereupon the switch will open tointerrupt the operating circuits of motor and thus stop the machineuntil the dish is removed.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferredembodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes maybe made therein without departing from the scope of the invention whichis defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

A hood I20 is hinged at l. Acontinuous conveyor adapted for use in a aplurality of laterally arranged recesses for 1 receiving dishes to bewashed injgenerallyupright position ror free access thereto by said washsprayspassing through said conveyor, mean :or maintaining said fingersin spaced and aligned relation defining a plurality of similar dishreceiving recesses arranged longitudinally of said conveyor, and meanson said conveyor cooperating with said fingers to support said dishes ineach said plurality of recesses out of contact with said cross members.

2. A continuous conveyor adapted for use in a dishwasher of thecharacter described adapted to contain means for discharging wash spraysupon the dishes from above and below the same, comprising a pair ofcontinuous side members movable through a wash chamber, a plurality ofcross members secured to said side members in spaced relationlongitudinally of said side members to provide an essentially openconstruction for free passage of said wash sprays therethrough, meansforming a plurality of fingers extending upwardly from said crossmembers in aligned relation across said conveyor to define a pluralityof laterally arranged recesses for receiving dishes to be washed ingenerally upright position for free access thereto by said wash sprayspassingthrough said conveyor, means for maintaining said fingers inspaced and aligned relation defining a plurality of similar dishreceiving recesses arranged longitudinally of said conveyor, andyieldable means in each of said recesses for resiliently supporting saiddishes in spaced relation with said cross members.

3. A continuous conveyor adapted for use in a dishwasher of thecharacter described comprising a pair of continuous side members movablethrough a wash chamber, a plurality of cross members secured to saidside members in spaced relation longitudinally of said side members toprovide an essentially open construction for free passage of Wash spraystherethrough, a plurality of yieldable wire separator members mounted onsaid cross bars to form guides and supports for receiving the dishes,said separator members including upwardly extending fingers arranged inpredetermined spaced relation over the surface of said conveyor forreceiving the dishes edgewise therebetween in generally uprightposition, and said separator members also including portions extendinggenerally longitudinally of said conveyor in upwardly spaced relationwith said cross members on which the dishes are adapted to rest.

l. A continuous conveyor for use in a dishwasher of the characterdescribed comprising a pair of continuous side members movable through awash chamber, a plurality of cross members secured to said side membersin spaced relation longitudinally of said side members to provide anessentially open construction for free passage of wash spraystherethrough, driving and supporting means for said conveyor at the endsof the dishwasher around which said conveyor is adapted to turn, and aplurality of separating members supported on said cross members, saidseparating members including upwardly extending fingers arranged inpredetermined spaced relation over the surface of said conveyor forreceiving the dishes edgewise therebetween to support said dishes ingenerally upright position for free access thereto by said wash spraysdirected upon said dishes from above and below said conveyor, each ofsaid separating members including portions mounted on two of said crossmembers to maintain said fingers in upwardly extending position duringtravel through said wash chamber while allowing free turning of saidconveyor around said supporting and driving means.

5. A continuous conveyor'adapted for use in a dishwasher of thecharacter described comprising a pair of continuous flexible sidemembers, a

plurality of cross members secured to said side members in spacedrelation longitudinally of said side members, a plurality of separatingmembers for the articles to be washed each including an upwardlyprojecting finger and a longitudinally projecting resilient loopportion, means formounting said separating members on said conveyorwithsaid fingers thereon in substantially aligned and spaced relationboth laterally and longitudinally of said conveyor to define a pluralityof recesses arranged both laterally and'longitudinally of said conveyorfor receiving articles to be Washed in upright position, each of saidloop portions-being located in one of said longitudinal recesses andbeing of sufficient length rality of cross members secured to said sidemembers in spacedgrelation longitudinally of said side members toprovide an essentially open construction for free passage of wash spraysthere- 7 through, aplurality of wire separator members mounted on eachofsaid cross members, said separator members including upwardly extendingfingers aligned laterally of said conveyor and cooperating to'formlaterally arranged recesses for receiving dishes edgewise therein, saidseparator members including longitudinally extending portions formingresilient supports for the dishes placed in said lateral recesses, andwire said separator members in spaced and aligned relation with saidfingers thereon defining longitudinally arranged recesses forreceivingdishes,

said spacers including resilient portions'located above said crossmembers for resiliently supporting said dishes. V g

7. A continuous conveyor for usein a dish-, washer comprising a pair ofcontinuous 'side members at either side of the conveyor, a: series ofcross bars extending across the'conveyor from one of said side membersto the other, yieldable wire separator members mounted on said crossbars forming guides and supports for'receiving the dishes thereon andtherebetween, said separator members including upwardly extending andrearwardly inclined fingers arranged in predetermined spaced relationover the surface of said conveyor for receiving the dishes edgewisetherebetween, and said separator members also including parts extendinggenerally longitudinal are ' spacers arranged on said'crossmembers-between I adjacent said separator members to maintain 10 rator-members including upwardly extending fingers arranged in predeterminedspaced relation over the surface of said conveyor for receiving thedishes edgewise therebetween, said separator members also includingparts extending generally longitudinally of said conveyor and arrangedin rows with the spaces between the rows being such that the dishes whensupported edgewise' on said parts are held in position above andsubstantially out of contact with said bars.

9. A continuous conveyor for use in a dishwasher which comprises a pairof continuous side members at either side of the conveyor, a series ofoross bars extending across the conveyor from one of said side membersto the other, yieldable 7 wire separator members mounted on said crossbars forming guides a'ndsupports for receiving the dishes thereon andtherebetween, said separator members including upwardly extendingfingers arranged in pr determined spaced relation over the surface ofsaid conveyor for receiving the dishes edgewise therebetween, saidseparator members also including parts extending generallylongitudinally of said conveyor on which the dishes. are adaptedto rest,said parts being in the ,form of loops arranged in rows longitudinallyof the conveyor with'the loops on one bar overlappingthose of the nextadjacent bar.

10. A continuous conveyor foruse in a dishwasher which comprises apairof continuous side dishes are adapted to rest, said parts being'in'the form of loops located in rows between alter- 'nate pairs of saidfingers, the space between said rows being such that the dishes whenpositioned edgewise on the loops of two spaced rows will be supportedabove the bars between said rows.

11. A continuous conveyor for use in a dishwasher which comprises a pairof continuous side members at either side of the conveyor, 2, series ofcross bars extending across the conveyor from one of said side membersto the other, yieldable wire separator members mounted on said crossbars forming guides and supports for receiving the dishes thereon andtherebetween, said separator members including upwardly extendingfingers arranged in predetermined spaced relation over the surface ofsaid conveyor-for receiving the dishes edgewise therebetween, saidseparator members also including-parts extending generallylongitudinally of said conveyor and arranged in rows with the spacebetween; the rows being such that dishes supported edgewise on saidparts are heldin position above and substantially out of contact withsaid bars, and yieldable means on thebars betweensaid rows of loops forpreventing direct contact of the dishes with said bars.

12. In a continuous conveyor of the character described for use infadishwasher, a plurality of flight wires for supporting and separatingthe articles to be washed, each of said flight wires being formed'toprovide 'a pair of upwardly pro- J'ecting -fingers,- an open conveyorframework,

means for mounting said flight Wires on said framework, and means formaintaining said flight wires in predetermined spaced relation alongsaid framework with said fingers thereon aligned both longitudinallyandlaterally of said framework to define a plurality of dish receivingrecesses arranged both laterally and longitudinally thereof.

13. In a continuous conveyor of the character described for use in adishwasher, a plurality of flight wires for supporting and separatingthe articles to be washed, an open conveyor framework, each of saidflight wires including a pair of upwardly projecting and laterallyspaced finger portions and a forward pair of foot portions adapted to besecured to said framework, each of said flight wires alsoincluding arearward pair "of foot portions and a resilient loop portion extendinglongitudinally from one of said pairs of foot portions, and means formaintaining said flight wires in laterally and longitudinally spacedrelation of said framework with said fingers thereon defining aplurality of recesses for receiving articles to be Washed and with said.loop portions thereof forming resilient supports for the articlesreceived in said recesses.

14. In a continuous conveyor adapted for use 1 in a dishwasher of thecharacter described, an open conveyor framework, a plurality of flightwires mounted on said framework and each including a pair of upwardlyprojecting fingers and a longitudinallyarranged resilient loop portion,a plurality of spacer members positioned between adjacent said flightwires laterally of said web to maintain said flight Wires in spaced andaligned relation with said fingers forming a plurality of laterally andlongitudinally arranged recesses for receiving articles to be washed,said loop portions of said'flight wires being arranged in certain ofsaid recesses toform resilient supports for said articl s, and saidspacers including resilient portions forming resilient supports for saidarticles in the others of said recesses.

15. In a continuous conveyor of the character described for use in adishwasher, a plurality of flight wires for supporting and separatingthe articles to be washed, said flight wires being formed to provideupwardly projecting fingers, an open conveyor framework, means formounting said flight wires on 'said'framework, means for maintainingsaidflight wires in predetermined spaced relation along said framework withsaid fingers thereon aligned both longitudinally and laterally of saidframework to define a plurality of dish receiving recesses arranged bothlaterally and longitudinally thereof, and a guard cap secured to theupper end of each said finger to form a cushion preventing directcontact between the upper ends of said fingers and the dishes beingloaded in said recesses.

16. In a continuous conveyor adapted for use in a dishwasher of thecharacter described, an open conveyor framework, a plurality of flightwires mounted on said framework and each including a pair of upwardlyprojecting elongated loops forming fingers and a longitudinally arrangedresilient loop portion, a generally thimble shaped cap mounted on theupper end of each said finger, means extending laterally through saidcap and said fingers to secure said cap in place, a plurality of spacermembers positioned between adjacent said flight wires laterally of saidweb to maintain said flight wires in spaced and aligned relation withsaid fingers forming a plurality of laterally and longitudinallyarrangedrecesses for receiving articles to be washed, said loop portions of saidflight wires being arranged in certain of said recesses to formresilient supports for said articles, and said spacers includingresilient portions forming resilient supports. for said articles in theothers of said recesses.

17. A dishwasher of the character described comprising a continuousconveyor, a plurality of spaced generally upwardly extending fingers onsaid conveyor for receiving therebetween and supporting dishes and otherarticles to be washed, and means for driving said conveyor forwardly tocarry the articles thereon through wash sprays, said fingers beinginclined rearwardly at a sliding angle with relation to the path oftravel of said conveyor to effect upward camming motion thereon of anarticle supported therebetween in the event of contact between saidarticle and a stationary obstruction adjacent the path of said conveyorfor release of said fingers and continuance of said forward travel ofsaid conveyor.

18. In a dishwasher including a housing form ing a wash chamber openingat both ends thereof, the combination of a cont nuous conveyor, aplurality of spaced generally upwardly extending fingers on saidconveyor for receiving therebetween and supporting dishes and otherarticles to be washed,-means for driving said conveyor forwardly tocarry the articles thereonthrough said wash chamber, and means at theentering end of said housing for engaging an article on said conveyorextending laterally beyond said conveyor to force said article laterallyinwardly for proper passage through said housing, said fingers beinginclined rearwardly at a sliding angle with relation to the path oftravel of said conveyor to effect upward camming motion thereon of saidlaterally projecting article upon contact between said article and saidengaging means on said housing for release of said fingers andcontinuance of said forward travel of said conveyor.

19. In a dishwasher of thecharacter described having awash chamberadapted to contain means for discharging wash and rinse sprays therein,the combination of a plurality of links and a plurality of cross memberssecured together in spaced relation forming a continuous conveyor ofsubstantial width movable through said chamber past said spraysandhaving an essentially open construction for free passage of saidsprays therethrough, means forming 'a plurality of spaced fingersextending upwardly from said conveyor, means on said conveyormaintaining said fingers inspaced-and aligned relation both laterallyand longitudinally of said conveyor to cooperate in defining a pluralityof dish receiving recesses arranged both laterally and longitudinally ofsaid conveyor, and means on said conveyor below said fingers forsupporting said dishes out of contact with said cross members andcooperating with said fingers to maintain said dishes in generallyupright position for free access thereto by said sprays directed throughsaid conveyor.

GERALD B. FOX. DAVID A. MEEKER.

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